Henri Decremps

(Beduer-en-Querci, Lot, France: 15th April 1746 -1826)

Lawyer and student of physics and music. Amateur magician. Had a celebrated literary feud with Pinetti in mid-1780s. Admitted to his close friend Ponsin that while he had learned exactly how most sleights were done he had mastered none.

Wrote several books on magic in French: La magie blanche dévoilée (Paris: 1784). English translation by Thomas Denton as The Conjurer Unmasked (1785, 89pp). Portuguese translation from Denton as O Pelotiquiero Desmascarado (Lisbon, 1791, 102pp; repr 1820 and 1832). Italian translation as La Magia Bianca (Messina: 1793). Spanish translation as La Magia Blanca Descubierta (Valencia: 1833). His next three books were Supplément à La magie blanche dévoilée (Paris: 1785); Le Testament de Jérôme Sharp (Paris: 1785, 328pp) with German translation as Neuer Beytrag zur natürlichen Magie (Berlin: 1788, 159pp); and Codicille de Jérôme Sharp (Paris: 1788, 244pp).

His first book is a recognized classic and deservedly so. His 5th and last book has little on magic but covers much material on the swindling methods of quacks and sharpers: Les petites aventures de Jérôme Sharp (Brussels: 1789, 266pp) with English translation as The little Adventures of Jerome Sharp.